Dumped Komani Hospital laundry a ‘bonfire’ on N6
Origins of flaming pile found on national road under investigation
Piles of linen and clothing from Komani Hospital were burnt along the N6 between Cathcart and Stutterheim on Tuesday night.
Witnesses said the items burnt for hours like a
“bonfire”.
When they drew closer to the flaming pile, they noticed the name of the hospital on some of the clothing.
So high were the flames that motorist Simnikiwe Kamve initially thought a car was on fire.
“We were worried that there could be a person inside but on investigation, it was piles and piles of hospital clothes which were burning there,” Kamve said.
Police and the fire department were called to the scene and put out the fire.
“It’s clear that these clothes were dumped here and someone set them alight.
“It may happen that the person has issues with the hospital or the health department.”
Health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said the department was investigating how Komani Hospital property had been dumped and set alight.
“MEC Sindiswa Gomba sent out a team, led by the security director, to ascertain if the hospital linen and clothes belonged the hospital.
“When the team arrived this morning [Wednesday] it was established that, indeed, the hospital linen and clothes were from Komani Hospital,” Manana said.
The blaze came just days after huge piles of linen and clothes, also belonging to the hospital, were discovered at a dump site in Mlungisi township, Komani.
A former service provider whose contract ended in 2019 has been identified by the department in its preliminary investigations.
The Dispatch established the service provider in question was OTJ Laundries, but owner Eram Sarah denied her company was responsible.
Manana said the service provider’s contract ended in February 2019. It had first been awarded in 2012.
“According to us they [the service provider] were supposed to return hospital equipment. Those items still belonged to the department.
“They had no right to dispose of them [because] we have a committee that sits and decides what to dispose of, not them,” he said.
In a statement, Gomba promised to leave no stone unturned in the probe into Tuesday’s night’s incident.
“We cannot have a situation where hospital linen and clothes are dumped or burnt because that means we are taking one step forward and two backwards [as] we constantly have to replace [items],” Gomba said.
She said those found to be in the wrong would face the music but did not want to pre-empt what would happen.
“But if our staff is involved in this shameless act, our human resources processes will kick in,” she said.
She said the department would be transparent and release the findings of its investigation once complete.